10 Arguments Against Abortion

1. Cost of Abortions

The Ministry of Health claimed that the 45 000 women treated in public hospitals for incomplete abortions each year is costing the state R19 million. They state that this is "a lot more than it would cost to perform early, safe abortions." (Sunday Tribune 7/7/96). This figure for 'incomplete abortions' includes spontaneous 'miscarriages and as about 1 in 5 pregnancies result in a miscarriage, this figure, calculated against the live births, shows that they are miscarriages and not back street abortions.

Conservatively speaking, an abortion performed in a state hospital will cost (the taxpayer) R1 000. If the figure of 200 000 backstreet abortions is used (assuming that it is accurate which highly questionable) and these backstreet abortions are now performed legally, then this will cost the state R200 million a year! Consider also that the abortion increased 16 fold in the USA when it was legalised - from 100 000 to 1,6 million a year.1 Can the Health Department cope with this?

In terms of the economy, abortion undermines future growth. It is still too early for us to see the effects now, but the disastrous consequences are going to be visable very soon. A recent study shows that abortion is going to be an economic disaster. The report calculates that for every European and American who is aborted, it costs their economy $1 5000 000. In terms of today's (1994) money adjusted to present value, the average American or European spends over $1 177 000 in his lifetime in terms of housing, medicine, clothes, transport and so on. He also pays over $440 000 in taxes in his lifetime. This makes $1 617 000 in total. So this means that the doctor may get $300 for murdering that baby which immediately helps the abortion industry. However, there are other industries that will be adversely affected. The cost to America alone of their aborted babies is well over $41 trillion! These figures are too large for any of us to grasp, but understand that America's entire deficit is $4 trillion, while their abortions will cost 10 times more than even the total debt of America. What will the cost for South Africa be?2

2. Backstreet Abortions Increase

Will those who perform these abortions have either the equipment or the knowledge to deal with complications that may occur? Count the cost in terms of money and human lives that will result from botched legal abortions.

Speaking before the 93rd Congress of the US, Senator James Buckley stated: "Data from foreign countries having far longer experience with legalised abortion than we have had in the US, suggest that legalisation has no effect on the criminal abortion rate. In at least three countries, the criminal abortion rate has actually risen since legalisation. Legalised abortion moves the back alley abortionists into the front office where their trade can be practised without fear of criminal prosecution."3

Dr Christopher Tietze, an abortion advocate, concedes: "Although one of the major goals of the liberalisation of abortion laws in Scandinavia was to reduce the incidence of illegal abortion, this was not accomplished. Rather as we know from a variety of sources, both criminal and total abortions increased." [original emphasis]4

Regardless of whether abortions are legal or not, some women will have abortions and some women will die from complications. Certainly all the babies will die. However, legalising abortion greatly increases the number of abortions. In various surveys 40-85% of the women said they would not have aborted their babies if it had been illegal. 5 We must not legalise procedures that kill the innocent just to make the killing process less dangerous.

3. Parallels between Abortion & Slavery

Slavery in centuries past and abortions in this century were defended and promoted by the same arguments. Consider the case in the USA: In 1857, in the Dred Scott case, the US Supreme Court decided, by a 7 to 2 majority, that according to the US Constitution, black people were not legal persons. They were the property of the owner. He could buy, or sell, or even kill them. Abolitionists had objected. The ruling was outrageous, they said. It was immoral and discriminated against an entire class of living persons solely on the basis of skin colour. But those who supported slavery argued that if those who had a moral objection to slavery, didn't have to own slaves. No one was forcing them to own slaves. But they also said: "Don't force your morality on the slave owner. He has the right to choose to own slaves if he wishes."

In a very similar decision just over one hundred years later, in 1973, in the Roe vs Wade Decision, the US Supreme Court decided that according to the US Constitution, by the same 7 to 2 majority, that unborn people were not legal persons. They had no civil rights, no human rights and were therefore, legally the property of the owner (the mother). She had the absolute legal right to keep or destroy her unborn baby. Pro-life people objected. The ruling was outrageous, they said. It was immoral and discriminated against an entire class of living people solely on the basis of age (too young) and place of residence (the womb). But those who support abortion argue that those who have a moral objection to abortion, don't have to have abortions. The pro-abortionists say: "No one is fordcing you to have an abortion. But don't force your morality on the mother. She has a right to choose to kill her developing baby if she wishes."

Abraham Lincoln in the 19th century said: "No one has the right to do what is wrong." 6

This country has just ended discrimination based on race. Are we now going to start discrimination on the basis of age? Saying:"I'm older than you, I'm bigger than you, I have a voice - therefore I can kill you."

4. Indisputable Medical Evidence - the Unborn baby is a Human Being

Time Magazine and Rand McNally's Altlas of the Body states, "In fusing together, the male and female gametes produce a fertilised single cell, the zygote, which is the start of a new individual." 7

The Official Senate report on Senate Bill 158, the "Human Life Bill", summarised the issue this way: "Physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human being - a being that is alive and a member of the human species. There is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological, and scientific writings."8

Everything that determines the individuality and originality of a person is established at conception. The first single cell contains the entire genetic blueprint in all its complexity.

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The heart starts beating between 18 and 25 days.

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Electrical brainwaves have been recorded at 43 days on an EEG. If the absence of a brainwave indicates death, why will pro-abortionists not accept that the presence of a brainwave is a confirmation of life?

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The brain and all body systems are present by 8 weeks and functioning a month later.

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At 8 weeks, the baby will wake and sleep, make a fist, suck his thumb, and get hiccups.

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At the end of 9 weeks, the baby has his own unique finger prints.

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At 11-12 weeks, the baby is sensative to heat, touch, light and noise. All body systems are working. He weighs about 28g and is 6-7.5 cm long.

He is fully developed before his mother's pregnancy is even noticeable. This is the age of baby, that the government is saying can be killed for any reason whatsoever, without a waiting period for the mother to consider her decision.

From conception, the new person conceived is as deserving of the full protection of the law as any other person.

5. Abortion Aggravates Child Abuse

If children are viewed as expendable before birth, they will be viewed as expendable after birth. A study by Dr Phillip Ney, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Christ Church, New Zealand, clearly pointed to the fact that abortion (and its acceptance of the violence of killing the unborn) lowered a parent's psychic resistance to violence and abuse of the born.9

A landmark study of 674 abused children was conducted by University of Southern California professor, Edward Lenoski. He discovered that 91% were from planned pregnancies; they were definitely wanted by their parents. What is startling is that, in society in general, 63% of pregnancies are planned. Hence, among abused children, a significantly higher percentage were 'unwanted children' compared to the percentage of 'wanted children' in society at large."

It is illogical to argue that a child is protected from abuse through abortion since abortion is the most horrific form of child abuse.

6. Even Legal Abortions are Unsafe

There are many complications that may arise from an abortion. It is not a 'quick fix' at all. The complications include: Ectopic pregnancies, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (reported in up to 30% of all cases11), subsequent infertility and miscarriages, future premature births (often because of a cervix that was damaged during the previous abortion), small-for-dates babies and placenta praevia, which is 7-15 times more common among women who have had abortions than among those who have not. 12 An abortion can also result in a perforated uterus requiring an emergency hysterectomy. The reported immediate complication rate is no less than 10%. Studies of long-term complications frequently report complication rates between 25-40%. 13

Abortion is being promoted in this country as a solution for the problems of the rural black woman who finds herself in a crisis pregnancy because she does not have access to contraceptives. If however, during the abortion, her womb is scarred, the after-birth in her next pregnancy may implant over the mouth of the womb, creating the medical condition of "placenta praevia". Because placenta praevia seldom causes complications during the pregnancy, this situation may go undetected. However, when the mother goes into labour, and the mouth of the womb starts to open, the placenta will begin to bleed. Without surgical intervention, the baby will bleed to death before it is born and the mother will have very serious complications. Many times, our rural woman does not go to a hospital for her delivery unless complications are anticipated. This woman may die as a result of her previous abortion, but the connection may never be made.

7. Increase in Breast Cancer

"Every study of induced abortions performed before the first live birth is consistent with an initial increase in risk of at least 50 percent," reports Dr Joel Brind, professor of endocrinology at Baruch College, City University of New York, who is also a breast cancer researcher on staff at Beth Israel Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He has also submitted his research on this subject to the Journal of the American Medical Association for peer review (Nov 1993).

During a woman's first pregnancy a surge of the hormone, oestrogen, causes the breast cells to divide, become mature, and capable of secreting milk. During this process of cell division they are more suscepible to carcinogens (cancer causing agents). If the pregnancy continues to full term the woman's breasts are then fully mature, the cells stop dividing rapidly and this counterbalances the initial surge of oestrogen. However, if the woman has an abortion, that natural process is interrupted. Her breast cells remain immature and are more susceptible to breast cancer.

Other studies agree with this position: In Brazil, more breast cancer patients reported having had abortions than did the control group. The rate of breast cancer among women in Finland increased with the number of abortions. The risk among Italian women with one of more legal abortions before a first live birth was increased by 42 percent. Among Chinese women who developed breast cancer before the age of 40, abortion before first full-term pregnancy led to an increased risk of 140 percent. The Soviets have one of the world's highest abortion rates and the incidence of breast cancer among Russian, Estonian and Soviet Georgian women tripled between 1960 and 1987. 14 Can South Africa afford the cost?

8. Most South Africans Oppose Abortion

A professional survey done by the MarkData arm of Human Sciences Research Council in September and October 1995 shows that the public were strongly opposed to abortion.

Legalised abortion was rejected by the following huge percentages by supporters of the various political parties: ANC: 76.8%, Freedom Front: 75.2%, IFP: 74.6%, DP: 40.5% and others 72.8%. A survey commissioned by the Centre for Policy Studies produced similar results.

In 1994, the government set up an Ad-hoc committee on Abortion and Sterilisation. They invited oral and written submissions, declaring that they were open, transparent and democratic. So South Africans responded in their thousands. Only the ministry of Health in Pretoria counted their submissions, they reported that they had received 157 000 submissions, of which, 495 were pro-abortion. Thus 99.97% of those who had cared enough to respond were pro-life! Astoundingly, the committee, headed by Dr S A Nkomo, an ANC member, acknowledged that most of the public submissions were against abortion on demand, but dismissed them because they 'came largely from Christians'. Are Christians not citizens of South Africa? Are our views invalid? If the government can dismiss the vast majority of submissions on the grounds that they were sent in by Christians, then this is religious discrimination!

9. The Overpopulation Argument

The commonly accepted ideology states that this world is overpopulated, this is the reason for poverty and oppression in the world and the way to solve these problems is to control the population.

However, is the world really overpopulated? Can we not feed ourselves? In his book "Exploding Population Myths" Jim Peron conclusively proves that the population is not the problem:

"In most of the world, food production is easily outstripping population growth, and on a world-wide basis the problem of overpopulation no longer exists. It is true, of course, that some nations still cannot feed themselves, but the reasons for this tend to be political...[for example] Zimbabwe has seen a massive decline in food production since independence, as have most of the emerging nations of Africa. But Africa is the last bastion of state planning and socialism, and it is no accident that it is also the last bastion of famine."15

"War and socialism are two great destroyers of the food supply in Africa, as they have been in other countries."16

In fact, in 1994, the United Nations Population Fund acknowledged that the world can feed itself in its report that concluded that "[food] production should be sufficient to meet all needs for the foreseeable future..."17

If everyone in the world moved to South Africa, the population density per square mile would be 11 502 - this is less than Budapest (16 691) or Milan (13 806) and about the same as Berlin (11 026) or New York (11 480).18 South Africa's population density is one-third that of Austria,19 and Austria does not have a problem with overcrowding and poverty. The answer is not to control population. It is to encourage people to become productive.

"Africa is the least populated of all the continents and has the ability to feed the entire world two times over...The good news for the people of Africa is that they need not suffer in poverty any longer. The solution is simple: free the people to produce; allow the people to keep what they produce; and the people will produce."20

10. The Bible Declares the Sanctity of Human Life

Genesis 9:6 states that we are made in God's image and therefore our lives are precious and whoever takes the life of another human being, forfeits the right to his own life.

Because all life was created by God and belongs to Him, no one has the right to murder another human being. "You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13. The Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood according to Proverbs 6:16-17. The Bible also teaches that we need to defend the weak and the helpless. "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves...defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9 (cf Ps 82:3-4).